Your Right to Know

As some conservative state lawmakers push last-minute legislation to block Common Core standards
for math and English, supporters of the curriculum guidelines adopted by Ohio and 44 other states
are going on the offensive.

StudentsFirst, an education-advocacy group, is mailing fliers this week to Republican voters in
the districts of GOP legislators touting some well-known conservative politicians and business
leaders who back the standards.

“Our intent is to combat myths about Common Core standards that are being perpetuated by some
conservative provocateurs such as Glenn Beck, which have spread like wildfire, and seem intent on
falsely casting (the standards) as if they were the educational equivalent to Obamacare,” said Greg
Harris, Ohio director for StudentsFirst.

Ohio and 47 other states developed the standards as part of an initiative launched by the
National Governors Association and the states’ education chiefs.

Ohio adopted Common Core in June 2010. Districts have until the 2014-15 school year to implement
the standards; many are already phasing them in.

CommonCore was crafted out of concern that American students are falling behind their peers
around the world, that though they graduate and pass required exams, the bar is too low because so
many need remedial classes in college.

Harris said supporters were surprised by the recent swell of opposition in Ohio and elsewhere
and are concerned the standards could be blocked or that funding for them, including professional
development for teachers and technology upgrades for corresponding student assessments, could be
jeopardized.

The StudentsFirst flier features Common Core supporters including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush,
Fox news host and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice.

The move comes as Rep. Andrew Thompson, R-Marietta, plans to introduce a bill that would repeal
the use of Common Core standards in Ohio.

“It’s like a federal takeover in another guise,” Thompson said. “The concern people have is how
it came in and how it was adopted, and if you are a local-control state and your local community
doesn’t want to do it, (there is no option). It really forecloses innovation at the local level
because we’re all using the same playbook.”

Thompson said his legislation is nearly complete and he anticipates legislative hearings on the
proposal later this summer.

Rep. John Becker, R-Union Township, is among the critics and says he’s heard from numerous
constituents with concerns. He recently introduced legislation to prohibit submission of a student’s
personal information to the federal government without authorization of a local school board.

“A lot of people describe it as a federal intrusion, and depending on who you talk to, the
standards are either too high or too low,” Becker said.

Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, said the concerns
are based on “fake information or a lack of information.”

The criticism surfaced in the past few months, but work on the standards has been going on for
two or three years in many districts, she said.